Analysis & Opinion

LONDON Jan 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures pointed to a
flat to slightly higher open on Wednesday, with futures for the
S&P 500 up 0.04 percent, Dow Jones futures flat
and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.1 percent.

* The Federal Reserve is expected to keep monetary policy on
a steady path when it concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday,
though behind the scenes intensive debate continues over when
the controversial bond-buying program should be curtailed.

* The Mortgage Bankers Association releases Weekly Mortgage
Market Index for the week ended Jan. 25 at 1200 GMT. The index
read 894.8 and the refinancing index was 4,916.7 in the previous
week.

* Amazon.com Inc shares hit a record on late on
Tuesday after it reported better-than-expected quarterly profit,
fueled by the growth of higher-margin businesses during the
fiercely competitive holiday quarter. Amazon shares
listed in Frankfurt were 5 percent higher on Wednesday.

* Automatic Data Processing (ADP) releases its January
employment report at 1315 GMT. Economists expect that 165,000
jobs were created in January, versus 215,000 new jobs in
December.

* Boeing will announce results later in the day. Just
over a month ago, it was flying high and was confident enough to
increase its dividend. But with its new 787 Dreamliner still
grounded by two battery failures, the Chicago-based aerospace
and defense giant is in no position to rest on its laurels.

* South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co did not
willfully infringe on some of Apple Inc's patents, a
U.S. federal court has ruled, foiling Apple's attempt to ratchet
up the $1.05 billion in damages it was awarded last August by a
U.S. jury.

* European shares were flat in morning trading,
with investors avoiding strong bets ahead of the Fed meeting.

* U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday, led by defensive sectors,
in a sign the cash piles recently moving into the market are
being put to use by cautious investors to pick up more gains.

* The Dow Jones industrial average was up 72.49
points, or 0.52 percent, at 13,954.42. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index was up 7.66 points, or 0.51 percent, at 1,507.84.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.64 points, or 0.02
percent, at 3,153.66.